Made In Wyoming: Gunsmith Gets Back To Basics Making Custom “Scout Rifles”

With the hunting rifle world increasingly dominated by magnum-caliber, extreme-range rifles, semiautomatics and super-powered scopes, a Sheridan gunmaker hopes to carve out his niche with compact, handy “scout rifles.”

“It’s kind of designed to be the Swiss Army knife of rifles,” Scott Van Dorsten told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s not built for any one type of use. It’s built to do all of them, without doing any of them perfectly.”

Van Dorsten’s connection to the scout rifles is strong. He learned how to make them from a master gunsmith who was in turn taught directly by the inventor of the scout rifle design — legendary Marine Corps veteran and small arms expert Jeff Cooper. 

Throwing The Book Out

He founded Van Dorsten Custom firearms about 17 years ago and specializes in scout rifles. 

They go against the grain of modern rifle trends. They’re smaller, more compact, and typically outfitted with low-powered scopes. 

But going against the grain is precisely the appeal of making scout rifles, said Van Dorsten. He went through the gunsmithing course at the Colorado School of Trades, the nation’s oldest gunsmithing school. 

He graduated in 2007 and thought he knew what he needed to know – until he was asked to custom build a scout rifle. He quickly realized that he’d have to unlearn most of what he’d learned. 

“When they came up with the scout rifle design, they threw the book out and said, ‘We’re going to do it differently,’” he said. 

Origins 

Van Dorsten in only one degree removed from Cooper, the godfather of the scout rifle. 

Among other things, Cooper was credited with the creation of the modern handgun shooting technique.  

He also wanted to invent a rifle made to be easily carried over rough terrain, and that could be shouldered, aimed and fired quickly. 

In the early 1980s, he conceived the scout rifle design. It’s been a highly respected, although somewhat obscure, class of firearms ever since. 

Van Dorsten never got the chance to meet Cooper, who died in 2006 at age 86. 

But he studied scout rifle design under Tom Russell, who learned it directly from Cooper and was dubbed one of Cooper’s master instructors.

Van Dorsten started down the scout rifle rabbit hole when he got a customer’s order to build a “left-handed scout rifle.” 

Once the build was finished, “I fell in love with it,” and wanted a scout rifle of his own. 

And he also wanted to start forging a scout rifle market in Wyoming and across the West. 

He’s confident many Wyoming shooters will be drawn in to an obsession with the design, just as he was. 

“To really appreciate a scout rifle, you’ve got to get it in your hands,” he said. 

Light And Fast

Perhaps the first thing somebody will notice about a scout rifle is the seemingly odd placement of the scope.

In typical hunting rifles, the scope sits directly over the bolt action. On scout rifles, it’s set forward of the action. 

The reason for that is quick target acquisition, Van Dorsten said. Typically, his rifles are outfitted with a scope that’s “fixed power” with a magnification factor of about 2.5. 

That’s in contrast to most hunting rifle scopes, which have adjustable scopes that might start around magnification power 3 but can be cranked all the way up to 12 power, 16 power or even more. 

A low-powered scope allows the shooter to get their eye on the crosshairs almost instantly when they shoulder the gun, Van Dorsten said. 

“What’s more, you can keep both eyes open,” and look not only at the target, but the entire surrounding area, he said. 

Each scout rifle also comes with old-fashioned iron sights as a backup in case the scope gets damaged or broken in the middle of a hunt, Van Dorsten said. 

Scout rifles also have shorter stocks and barrels, he added. The shorter stock means a shooter can shoulder a scout rifle more quickly than they could a full-sized rifle, he said. 

The shorter barrel and overall lighter weight of scout rifles make them easier to carry while hunting in Wyoming’s rugged mountains, “where every pound you carry means pain,” he said. 

Scout Rifle And .308 A Match Made In Heaven For Hunters

As Van Dorsten sees it, the Swiss Army knife of rifles should be chambered for the Swiss Army knife of rifle cartridges. 

And that cartridge is the .308 Winchester, he said. 

“The .308 is going to handle just about any kind of North American game – within reasonable range and with a good shot – from moose on down,” he said. 

Recent times have seen numerous new rifle cartridges flood the target shooting hunting markets. Those have included “short magnum” calibers, and the 6.5 Creedmoor, which is either much-loved, or much-hated, depending on who you ask.  

The .308 is more like your grandpa’s hunting round – it’s been around since the early 1950s. But it remains popular, likely because of its reputation for accuracy and adequate knock-down power – but relatively modest recoil. 

And while short enough to be handy, a scout-rifle’s 19-inch barrel is still long to effectively burn all the powder from a .308 cartridge, Van Dorsten said. 

With firearms, the shorter the barrel, the greater chances are that all of a round’s gunpowder won’t be burnt when the trigger is pulled. 

That means unburnt powder will just be spat out of the gun’s muzzle, rather than the full force of the charge being put behind the bullet. 

Hoping Cowboys Will Make The Big Switch

Scout rifles have been catching on with hunting guides and a few hunters who like to go way up into the mountains, Van Dorsten said. 

But what he’s really hoping for is to convince Wyoming’s cowboys to trade in their classic lever-action Winchester and Marlin rifles for his more modern bolt-action scout rifles. 

It could be a tough sell. Cowboys and old .30-30 lever-action rifles in saddle scabbards have been an iconic pairing since the 19^th Century. 

But Van Dorsten thinks he can convince ranch folks to upgrade. 

“Personally, I’m trying to figure out how to get the attention of the Wyoming cowboys and the ranchers. This is the rifle that should replace the tired old Winchester rifles they carry now,” he said.

Contact Mark Heinz at mark@cowboystatedaily.com

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.